Happy Deathday
by Joanie Dark
Summary: Raito visits L's grave on the anniversary of his death and has an emotional moment. RaitoxL.


The rain was falling gently as a large black car pulled into the parking lot outside of the cemetery. The door opened as Yagami Raito got out, looking around and sighing.

Today…wasn't a very good day.

He opened an umbrella, black of course, and walked past the gate. It was incredibly silent in the graveyard—no one seemed to go out this way very often. It had been quite a drive from the city; he could barely even remember the name of the little town he was in, and was quite surprised when he saw it jotted down on an old sheet of paper.

It was an impulse…he knew Kami should not be so impulsive, but something still clicked inside him when he saw the note. It had been five years…far to long. Frankly, despite he was his enemy, Raito missed L. Life just never seemed to be as interesting without the detective around, and at least he could keep an eye on the person who was trying to lock him away. Mello, and that Near brat…they were another story.

Raito walked slowly, taking care not to step on any of the graves. Strange for a wielder of the Death Note, but Raito always had felt uneasy in graveyards. It was as if everyone who was dead was watching him, waiting, wanting to pull him into the world of the dead with them… He shuddered at the thought.

Overcast, rainy days in a graveyard, it seemed, caused strange ideas to run through the man's head. He shook his head, getting rid of the image of vengeful corpses, as he approached the far corner of the graveyard. There was a large, carelessly filled hole in the ground, with no grave marker and a slight stench of decay coming from it.

A pauper's tomb, for the poor and unwanted.

L didn't deserve to be there.

He had been such a great detective, a great man…a great friend.

Raito knelt by the grave, smiling slightly, and pulling out a little white box from under his jacket. Opening it he revealed two slices of strawberry cake; one barely a sliver and one huge.

"I never could understand how much you liked this stuff, but I thought it fitting we ate together," Raito said, placing the larger slice on top of the grave with a plastic fork. He started on his own, smiling slightly.

"Ryuzaki…things are so much different, since you've been gone. Kira is still around, as you probably know…" he started, not daring to reveal his identity in case the ghost decided to pay N or M a visit in their dreams for a clue, but then laughing. He was dead; the dead probably knew these things anyway.

He placed the fork to his lips, trying to think what to say as he watched L's cake slowly melt away in the drizzling rain. He wanted to phrase it exactly right.

"We…we all miss you, L. We all regret that you're gone, that you can't help with the case. Even I miss you. Especially me." He ran a finger along the ground. "I know it sounds odd, Kira missing his arch nemesis, but frankly…" He bit his lip. Even though he wanted to say it, he couldn't bear to say the words. So he went on…

"Most of the team is as it was before. And you'd be happy to hear your protiges are now working on the case, though honestly, I doubt they can do anything to stop me." He smiled. "Maybe, with the wisdom of the dead, you can see the goodness in what I do. You can see finally how I am making the world a better place, and you nor Mello nor Near should stop me, even if you could…"

Raito noticed that though he was talking about his triumph over L, he still had tears trickling down his face. He sighed with exasperation.

"It seems my body is betraying me," he muttered. "Obviously I'm not really happy about all this. But I need to do it, for the good of the world, to become their God. And honestly, though we've had are problems, and though I've promised so many the role…I really wish you were the one who could reign beside me." He wiped a tear from his eye. "If I could choose anyone to be my queen of this new world, it would be you…" The wind whistled and Raito merely stared at the ground, silent.

"I wish I had told you while you were alive…I wish we had been better friends…I wish those nights we spent chained together could have been less cold…" He didn't even bother with the tears now, freely flowing down his cheeks. "Most of all, I wish Rem hadn't listened. I wish I hadn't said anything. I wish…wish you were here…"

Raito didn't know what he had expected, but the silence still seemed disappointing. The only sounds were the light rain and his choked sobs. By the time he regained his composure, the cake had completely melted away. He stood, brushing himself off, and bowed.

"Happy deathday, Ryuzaki," he said quietly, walking back to the car.

~*~

Raito breathed heavily, trying to get away from his pursuers with every ounce of his being. They couldn't have caught him, he was God! Kira would be caught by no man! People stared at the blood flowing from his wounds, but he didn't stop until he finally reached an old warehouse.

It had gotten too much for him to bear, and he collapsed on the stairs. It was tragic; he was so young, beautiful, and yet he lay bleeding there, almost dead.

He stared up into the ceiling. He remembered once that Ryuk had said he would be the one to write Raito's name in the Death Note.

Go ahead, Ryuk. Do it, take me out of my misery, he thought. He almost felt happy as he felt his heart tighten. At least the heart attack meant it would be quick. But then he saw it…

He thought it might have been a hallucination. It had to be. He could swear L was standing over him, staring at him as he died…

The pain subsided, and Raito got up. He looked at his corpse with mild bemusement, and L clapped his hands.

"Well, now you're dead. I guess we're even, Kira."

Raito turned to him, smiled, and hugged the detective. He sobbed into L's shirt as the ebony-haired man stroked his hair gently.

"Everyone's waiting for you, at the party. They can't wait to see you," he said soothingly. "Happy deathday, Raito."

"And thanks for the cake."

----------------------------

Originally published at .com/art/Happy-Deathday-70724554 as a prize for a friend's contest. ^-^


End file.
